School News

Friends of RCC Library invites public to meet Civil War expert

A wine-and-cheese author event at Belle Mount Winery in Warsaw at 5 p.m. on Friday, October 25, will introduce the nationally-renowned Dr. James I. “Bud” Robertson Jr. to interested area residents. The event is being sponsored by the Rappahannock Community College Friends of the Library.

Dr. Robertson will speak about the continued influences and legacies of the Civil War. “Be prepared to hear fascinating facts concerning present-day ideas and objects that have their origin in the Civil War,” states a Friends of the Library press release.

He will also sign copies of his book, “The Untold Civil War: Exploring the Human Side of War,” which was published by National Geographic. The Washington Post calls this volume “a beauty,” and praises it for its “great selection of photographs.”

Robertson is the Alumni Distinguished Professor of History in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech. On the 100th anniversary of the Civil War, he was asked by President John F. Kennedy to serve as executive director of the United States Civil War Centennial Commission. On the war’s 150th anniversary, he was asked to serve as a member of the executive committee of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission.

The cost of the event is $15 per person, and those wishing to attend should register by October 15. For more information or to make reservations, call Catherine Courtney at 804-529-7730, or Cyndy Sanford at 472-2719.